Drake on His Mother’s Influence, Kanye West & Andre 3000, and Obama Being a Fan?

Music

Our boy Drizzy had some interesting things to say in a recent pow wow with The Daily Beast. The news outlet spent time prying and digging beneath surface of hip-hop brightest Canadian export. Their convo touched all grounds from his mother to Barack Obama wanting him to come to the White House. Read on for the highlights.

On His Mother’s Influencing His Music: “My mother made me truly appreciate women,” said Drake, getting slightly emotional. “I obviously make sex-driven, darker, sexier music, but I try not to offend women in them. It’s not in my character. And my father was basically a reverse-role model for me. I’m dying to be a great dad one day, whenever that day comes.” He paused. “Other than that, it was hard just growing up with my mom and watching her fight for me to have a good childhood. It was tough to watch.”

On Kanye West and Andre 3000: “I think Kanye [West] deserves a lot of credit and Andre 3000 deserves a lot of credit for the shift in what you have to be to be a rapper, and what your music has to sound like,” said Drake. “Those guys made it OK for melody to be introduced. They made it OK to not necessarily be the most street dude. For me, I started to believe more in myself when I saw those two guys. I thought, ‘I’m good at rapping, so if they just respect the talent and don’t crucify you for what your past is or who you are, then I should be OK.”

On Barack Obama: “I ran into somebody who works for Barack Obama the other day, and she’s like, ‘I’m so sorry we haven’t called you, but we can’t have Canadian citizens perform or be a part of U.S. politics,’” said Drake. “I was like, ‘Well I’m a dual citizen!’ And she was like, ‘No way! Well, you’ve got to come now.’ So I think I might actually get a chance to meet Barack.”